Erno Dohnányi
Encyclopedia
Ernő Dohnányi (ˈɛrnø ˈdohnaːɲi) (July 27, 1877February 9, 1960) was a Hungarian
conductor
, composer
, and pianist
. He used the German form of his name Ernst von Dohnányi for most of his published compositions.
The Dohnányi family was ennobled by Leopold I
, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary.
, Austria-Hungarian Empire, (today Bratislava
, capital of Slovakia
). He first studied music with his father, a professor of mathematics and amateur cellist, at gymnasium
, but afterwards became a pupil at the Budapest Academy of Music, studying piano and composition with Carl Forstner, organist of the Bratislava Cathedral. In 1894 he became a pupil of István Thomán
for piano and of Hans von Koessler
(a cousin of Max Reger
) for composition. Béla Bartók
was one of his classmates there. Dohnányi's first published composition, his Piano Quintet in C minor, earned the approval of Johannes Brahms
, who promoted the work in Vienna
.
After a few lessons with Eugen d'Albert
, Dohnányi made his debut in Berlin
in 1897 and was at once recognized as an artist of high attainments. Similar success in Vienna
followed, and he then made the tour of Europe with the greatest success. He made his London debut at a Richter concert in the Queen's Hall
, where he gave a memorable performance of Beethoven
's Piano Concerto No. 4
.
Using his position as a conductor, Dohnányi pioneered the performance of Bartók's more accessible music to boost its popularity.
During the following season, he visited the United States and established his reputation playing the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 for his American debut with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
.
Unlike most other famous pianists of the time, Dohnányi did not limit himself to solo recitals and concerto solos, but also played chamber music
.
Ernő married Elisabeth Kunwald, who was also a pianist. In 1902, their first son, Hans von Dohnányi
, was born. Hans later distinguished himself as a leader of the anti-Nazi resistance in Germany and was a friend and collaborator of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
(his brother-in-law). Hans in turn became the father of the well-known orchestral conductor, Christoph von Dohnányi
.
Joseph Joachim
invited Dohnányi to teach at the Hochschule in Berlin, which he did from 1905 to 1915. Going back to Budapest, Dohnányi organized over a hundred concerts there each year. In 1919, he was appointed director of the Budapest Academy, but was replaced the same year for purely political reasons. He became music director of the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra
and promoted the music of Bartók, Zoltán Kodály
and other Hungarians, but did not play his own music very often. Dohnányi's pupils include Andor Földes
, Ervin Nyíregyházi
, Géza Anda
, Annie Fischer
, Edward Kilenyi
, Bálint Vázsonyi
, Sir Georg Solti
, Istvan Kantor
, Joseph Running, György/Georges Cziffra
, Frank Cooper
and Ľudovít Rajter
.
In the 1920 season, he played the complete piano works of Beethoven. During the 1920s, he also recorded several of his works on the AMPICO reproducing piano.
In 1934 he was again appointed director of the Budapest Academy, a post he held until 1941, when he resigned from the post "as a protest against the anti-Jewish legislations [of that year]". That year he also had to disband the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra
.
After World War II
, which had claimed the lives of both of his sons, one in combat and the other executed by the Nazis for his role in a plot to assassinate Hitler, Dohnányi moved to the United States. He had remained in fascist
Hungary during the war, using his influence and expending his own fortune to protect Jewish musicians. A whisper campaign against him was promoted by the new Communist
government of Hungary, to the point where he found it necessary to leave. He was not able to revive his career as a concert pianist, but continued to compose and became interested in American folk music
. His last orchestral work, American Rhapsody (1953), was written for the sesquicentennial of Ohio University
and included folk material, for example, Turkey in the straw
, On Top of Old Smokey and I am a poor wayfaring stranger. Dohnányi also taught for ten years at the Florida State University
School of Music in Tallahassee
. In 1946, he was initiated as an honorary member of the Epsilon Iota Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity at the Florida State University
.
His last public performance, on January 30, 1960, was at Florida State University, conducting the university orchestra in a performance of the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 with his doctoral student, Edward R. Thaden, as soloist. Following this performance, Dohnányi traveled to New York City to record some Beethoven piano sonatas, as well as other works, on stereo LP discs for Everest Records
. He had previously recorded a Mozart
concerto, his own Variations on a Nursery Tune
, the second movement of his Ruralia Hungarica
(Gypsy Andante), and a few solo works (but no Beethoven sonatas) on 78 rpm and various works, including Beethoven's Tempest Sonata
, on early mono LP discs. He died 10 days later, on February 9, 1960, of pneumonia in New York City. The BBC issued an LP recording taken from one of his last concerts with sonatas by Beethoven and Schubert
, now considered one of the glories of the heritage of Romantic pianism.
He was buried in Tallahassee, Florida.
His 3 volumes of Daily Finger Exercises for the Advanced Pianist were published by Mills Music in 1962.
The Warren D. Allen Music Library at Florida State University's College of Music holds a large archive of Dohnányi's papers, manuscripts, and related materials.
The Hungarian government awarded him its highest civilian honor, the Kossuth Prize, in 1990.
An International Ernst von Dohnányi Festival was held at Florida State University in 2002.
folk music
, he is not considered a nationalist
composer like Béla Bartók
or Zoltán Kodály
. Dohnányi's approach is deeply rooted in the strongest traditions of European classical music
and particularly bears the imprint of Johannes Brahms
.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, and pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
. He used the German form of his name Ernst von Dohnányi for most of his published compositions.
The Dohnányi family was ennobled by Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary.
Biography
Dohnányi was born in Pozsony, Kingdom of HungaryKingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
, Austria-Hungarian Empire, (today Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
, capital of Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
). He first studied music with his father, a professor of mathematics and amateur cellist, at gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
, but afterwards became a pupil at the Budapest Academy of Music, studying piano and composition with Carl Forstner, organist of the Bratislava Cathedral. In 1894 he became a pupil of István Thomán
István Thomán
István Thomán was a Hungarian piano virtuoso and music educator. He was appointed by Franz Liszt to teach at the Royal Hungarian Academy of Music in Budapest . István Thomán was a notable piano teacher, with students including Ernő Dohnányi, Georges Cziffra, and Béla Bartók...
for piano and of Hans von Koessler
Hans von Koessler
Hans von Koessler was a German composer, conductor and music teacher. In Hungary, where he worked for 26 years, he was known as János Koessler....
(a cousin of Max Reger
Max Reger
Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was a German composer, conductor, pianist, organist, and academic teacher.-Life:...
) for composition. Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
was one of his classmates there. Dohnányi's first published composition, his Piano Quintet in C minor, earned the approval of Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
, who promoted the work in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
After a few lessons with Eugen d'Albert
Eugen d'Albert
Eugen Francis Charles d'Albert was a Scottish-born German pianist and composer.Educated in Britain, d'Albert showed early musical talent and, at the age of seventeen, he won a scholarship to study in Austria...
, Dohnányi made his debut in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1897 and was at once recognized as an artist of high attainments. Similar success in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
followed, and he then made the tour of Europe with the greatest success. He made his London debut at a Richter concert in the Queen's Hall
Queen's Hall
The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect T.E. Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it was the home of the promenade concerts founded by Robert...
, where he gave a memorable performance of Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's Piano Concerto No. 4
Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, was composed in 1805–1806, although no autograph copy survives.-Musical forces and movements:...
.
Using his position as a conductor, Dohnányi pioneered the performance of Bartók's more accessible music to boost its popularity.
During the following season, he visited the United States and established his reputation playing the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 for his American debut with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the SLSO is the second-oldest symphony orchestra in the United States as it is preceded by the New York Philharmonic.-History:The St...
.
Unlike most other famous pianists of the time, Dohnányi did not limit himself to solo recitals and concerto solos, but also played chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
.
Ernő married Elisabeth Kunwald, who was also a pianist. In 1902, their first son, Hans von Dohnányi
Hans von Dohnanyi
Hans von Dohnanyi was a German jurist, rescuer of Jews, and German resistance fighter against the Nazi régime.-Early life:...
, was born. Hans later distinguished himself as a leader of the anti-Nazi resistance in Germany and was a friend and collaborator of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and martyr. He was a participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church. He was involved in plans by members of the Abwehr to assassinate Adolf Hitler...
(his brother-in-law). Hans in turn became the father of the well-known orchestral conductor, Christoph von Dohnányi
Christoph von Dohnányi
Christoph von Dohnányi is a German conductor of Hungarian ancestry.- Youth and World War II :Dohnányi was born in Berlin, Germany to jurist Hans von Dohnányi and Christine Bonhoeffer. His uncle on his mother's side was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian/ethicist...
.
Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant violinists of the 19th century.-Origins:...
invited Dohnányi to teach at the Hochschule in Berlin, which he did from 1905 to 1915. Going back to Budapest, Dohnányi organized over a hundred concerts there each year. In 1919, he was appointed director of the Budapest Academy, but was replaced the same year for purely political reasons. He became music director of the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra
Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra
The Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra is Hungary's oldest functioning orchestra, being founded in 1853 by Ferenc Erkel under the auspices of the Budapest Philharmonic Society...
and promoted the music of Bartók, Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is best known internationally as the creator of the Kodály Method.-Life:Born in Kecskemét, Kodály learned to play the violin as a child....
and other Hungarians, but did not play his own music very often. Dohnányi's pupils include Andor Földes
Andor Földes
Andor Földes was an internationally renowned Hungarian pianist born in Budapest, who later took American citizenship.-Career:...
, Ervin Nyíregyházi
Ervin Nyíregyházi
Ervin Nyíregyházi was a Hungarian-born American pianist.-Childhood and early career:...
, Géza Anda
Géza Anda
Géza Anda was a Hungarian pianist. A celebrated interpreter of classical and romantic repertoire, particularly noted for his performances and recordings of Mozart, he was also a tremendous interpreter of Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Bartók....
, Annie Fischer
Annie Fischer
Annie Fischer was a Hungarian classical pianist.-Biography:Fischer was born in Budapest, and studied in that city at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music with Ernő Dohnányi. In 1933 she won the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in her native city...
, Edward Kilenyi
Edward Kilenyi
Edward Kilenyi was a classical pianist. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 7, 1910. His father, Edward Kilenyi, Sr., arrived in the United States from Hungary in 1908, taught music to George Gershwin for five years and later wrote music for movies and the Sam Fox music library.Kilenyi...
, Bálint Vázsonyi
Balint Vazsonyi
Balint Vazsonyi was a Hungarian pianist, international recitalist, soloist with leading orchestras, and political journalist. He made performance history in playing chronological cycles of all 32 piano sonatas by Beethoven over two days in New York, Boston, and London...
, Sir Georg Solti
Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti, KBE, was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor. He was a major classical recording artist, holding the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, having personally won 31 as a conductor, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his...
, Istvan Kantor
Istvan Kantor
Istvan Kantor is a Hungarian born Canadian performance and video artist, industrial music and electropop singer, and founder of Neoism....
, Joseph Running, György/Georges Cziffra
Georges Cziffra
Georges Cziffra was a Hungarian virtuoso pianist. He became a French citizen in 1968.Cziffra is most known for his dazzling recordings of Franz Liszt's virtuoso works...
, Frank Cooper
Frank Cooper
Frank Arthur Cooper was Premier of Queensland from 1942 to 1946 for the Australian Labor Party.He was born on 16 July 1872 at Blayney, New South Wales and died at Kedron, Queensland..-External links:...
and Ľudovít Rajter
Ludovít Rajter
Ľudovít Rajter was a Slovak composer and conductor of ethnic Hungarian origin. The Rayter family immigrated to Hungary from South-Germany, but were of Dutch origin...
.
In the 1920 season, he played the complete piano works of Beethoven. During the 1920s, he also recorded several of his works on the AMPICO reproducing piano.
In 1934 he was again appointed director of the Budapest Academy, a post he held until 1941, when he resigned from the post "as a protest against the anti-Jewish legislations [of that year]". That year he also had to disband the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra
Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra
The Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra is Hungary's oldest functioning orchestra, being founded in 1853 by Ferenc Erkel under the auspices of the Budapest Philharmonic Society...
.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, which had claimed the lives of both of his sons, one in combat and the other executed by the Nazis for his role in a plot to assassinate Hitler, Dohnányi moved to the United States. He had remained in fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
Hungary during the war, using his influence and expending his own fortune to protect Jewish musicians. A whisper campaign against him was promoted by the new Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
government of Hungary, to the point where he found it necessary to leave. He was not able to revive his career as a concert pianist, but continued to compose and became interested in American folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
. His last orchestral work, American Rhapsody (1953), was written for the sesquicentennial of Ohio University
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
and included folk material, for example, Turkey in the straw
Turkey in the Straw
"Turkey in the Straw" is a well-known American folk song dating from the early 19th century.The song's tune was first popularized in the late 1820s and early 1830s by blackface performers, notably George Washington Dixon, Bob Farrell and George Nichols. Another song, "Zip Coon", was sung to the...
, On Top of Old Smokey and I am a poor wayfaring stranger. Dohnányi also taught for ten years at the Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
School of Music in Tallahassee
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
. In 1946, he was initiated as an honorary member of the Epsilon Iota Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity at the Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
.
His last public performance, on January 30, 1960, was at Florida State University, conducting the university orchestra in a performance of the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 with his doctoral student, Edward R. Thaden, as soloist. Following this performance, Dohnányi traveled to New York City to record some Beethoven piano sonatas, as well as other works, on stereo LP discs for Everest Records
Everest Records
Everest Records was a stereophonic record label based in Bayside, Long Island started by Harry D. Belock and Bert Whyte in May 1958. It was devoted mainly to classical music.-History:...
. He had previously recorded a Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
concerto, his own Variations on a Nursery Tune
Variations on a Nursery Tune (Dohnányi)
The Variations on a Nursery Tune, Op. 25, is a piece for piano and orchestra by Ernő Dohnányi. It is subtitled For the enjoyment of humorous people and for the annoyance of others....
, the second movement of his Ruralia Hungarica
Ruralia Hungarica
Ruralia Hungarica is a name given by the Hungarian composer Ernő Dohnányi to four interrelated works.First came the version for solo piano, a suite containing 7 movements, Op. 32a, in 1923:* I. Allegretto, molto tenero* II. Presto, ma non tanto...
(Gypsy Andante), and a few solo works (but no Beethoven sonatas) on 78 rpm and various works, including Beethoven's Tempest Sonata
Piano Sonata No. 17 (Beethoven)
The Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2, was composed in 1801/02 by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is usually referred to as "The Tempest" , but this title was not given by him, or indeed referred to as such during his lifetime; instead, it comes from a claim by his associate Anton Schindler...
, on early mono LP discs. He died 10 days later, on February 9, 1960, of pneumonia in New York City. The BBC issued an LP recording taken from one of his last concerts with sonatas by Beethoven and Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
, now considered one of the glories of the heritage of Romantic pianism.
He was buried in Tallahassee, Florida.
His 3 volumes of Daily Finger Exercises for the Advanced Pianist were published by Mills Music in 1962.
The Warren D. Allen Music Library at Florida State University's College of Music holds a large archive of Dohnányi's papers, manuscripts, and related materials.
The Hungarian government awarded him its highest civilian honor, the Kossuth Prize, in 1990.
An International Ernst von Dohnányi Festival was held at Florida State University in 2002.
Compositions
Dohnányi's compositional style was personal. Although he used influences from HungarianHungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, he is not considered a nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
composer like Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
or Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is best known internationally as the creator of the Kodály Method.-Life:Born in Kecskemét, Kodály learned to play the violin as a child....
. Dohnányi's approach is deeply rooted in the strongest traditions of European classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and particularly bears the imprint of Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
.
Stage
- Der Schleier der Pierrette (The Veil of Pierrette), Mime in three parts (Libretto after Arthur SchnitzlerArthur SchnitzlerDr. Arthur Schnitzler was an Austrian author and dramatist.- Biography :Arthur Schnitzler, son of a prominent Hungarian-Jewish laryngologist Johann Schnitzler and Luise Markbreiter , was born in Praterstraße 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian...
), Op. 18 (1909) - Tante Simona (Aunt Simona), Comic Opera in one act (Libretto by Victor Heindl), Op. 20 (1912)
- A vajda tornya (The Tower of the Voivod), Romantic Opera in three acts (Libretto by Viktor Lányi, after Hans Heinz Ewers and Marc Henry), Op. 30 (1922)
- A tenor (The Tenor), Comic Opera in three acts (Libretto by Ernő Góth and Carl Sternheim, after Bürger Schippel by Carl Sternheim), Op. 34 (1927)
Choral
- Szegedi mise (Szeged Mass), Op. 35 (1930)
- Cantus vitae, Symphonic Cantata, Op. 38 (1941)
- Stabat mater, Op. 46 (1953)
Orchestral
- Symphony in F major (1896, unpublished)
- Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 9 (1901)
- Suite in F-sharp minor, Op. 19 (1909)
- Ünnepi nyitány (Festival Overture), Op. 31 (1923)
- Ruralia Hungarica (based on Hungarian folk tunes), Op. 32b (1924)
- Szimfonikus percek (Symphonic Minutes), Op. 36 (1933)
- Symphony No. 2 in E major, Op. 40 (1945, revised 1954-7)
- American Rhapsody, Op. 47 (1953)
Solo instrument and orchestra
- Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 5 (1898) (the opening theme was inspired by Brahms's Symphony No. 1Symphony No. 1 (Brahms)The Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68, is a symphony written by Johannes Brahms. Brahms spent at least fourteen years completing this work, whose sketches date from 1854. Brahms himself declared that the symphony, from sketches to finishing touches, took 21 years, from 1855 to 1876...
) - Konzertstück (Concertpiece) in D major for cello and orchestra, Op. 12 (1904)
- Variations on a Nursery TuneVariations on a Nursery Tune (Dohnányi)The Variations on a Nursery Tune, Op. 25, is a piece for piano and orchestra by Ernő Dohnányi. It is subtitled For the enjoyment of humorous people and for the annoyance of others....
(Variationen über ein Kinderlied) for piano and orchestra, Op. 25 (1914) - Violin Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 27 (1915)
- Piano Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Op. 42 (1947)
- Violin Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 43 (1950)
- Concertino for harp and chamber orchestra, Op. 45 (1952)
Chamber and instrumental
- Piano Quartet in F minor, (1894)
- Piano Quintet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1 (1895)
- String Quartet No. 1 in A major, Op. 7 (1899)
- Sonata in B major for cello and piano, Op. 8 (1899)
- Serenade in C major for string trio, Op. 10 (1902)
- String Quartet No. 2 in D major, Op. 15 (1906)
- Sonata in C minor for violin and piano, Op. 21 (1912)
- Piano Quintet No. 2 in E minor, Op. 26 (1914)
- String Quartet No. 3 in A minor, Op. 33 (1926)
- Sextet in C for piano, strings and winds, Op. 37 (1935)
- Aria for flute and piano, Op 48, No. 1 (1958)
- Passacaglia for solo flute, Op. 48, No. 2 (1959)
Piano
- Four Pieces, Op. 2 (1897, pub. 1905)
- Waltzes for four hands, Op. 3 (1897)
- Variations and Fugue on a Theme of E[mma].G[ruber]., Op. 4 (1897)
- Gavotte and Musette (WoO, 1898)
- Albumblatt (WoO, 1899)
- Passacaglia in E minor, Op. 6 (1899)
- Four Rhapsodies, Op. 11 (1903)
- Winterreigen, Op. 13 (1905)
- Humoresque in the form of a Suite, Op. 17 (1907)
- Three Pieces, Op. 23 (1912)
- Fugue for left hand (WoO, 1913)
- Suite in the Old Style, Op. 24 (1913)
- Six Concert Etudes, Op. 28 (1916)
- Variations on a Hungarian Folksong, Op. 29 (1917)
- Pastorale on a Hungarian Christmas Song (WoO, 1920)
- Ruralia Hungarica, Op. 32a (1923)
- Waltz Suite, for two pianos, Op. 39a (1945),
- Limping Waltz for solo piano, Op. 39b (1947)
- Six Pieces, Op. 41 (1945)
- Three Singular Pieces, Op. 44 (1951)
Sources
- Ilona von Dohnanyi and James A, Grymes, eds., Ernst von Dohnanyi: A Song of Life (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002), ISBN 0-253-34103-5
- William Lines Hubbard et al., eds., The American History and Encyclopedia of Music, vol. 1 (London: Irving Squire, 1908), 183-4, available online
External links
- Ernő Dohnányi Discography
- Ernő Dohnányi Profile at The Remington Site
- Dohnanyi String Quartet Nos 1 & 2 sound-bites
- Warren D. Allen Music Library at Florida State University
- Lecture by D. Kiszely-Papp on piano music of Dohnányi
- In Memoriam concerts
- http://www.box.net/shared/s3zj5efniy Ampico Piano Solo "Music Of The Spheres", (Sphärenmusik) from "Winterreigen" Opus 13, by Ernst Von Dohnanyi, played by E.V.Dohnanyi on the Ampico Reproducing Piano (7 ft Grand Piano)
Videos
- Rondo from Serenade Op.10 played by the Valencia String Trio
- E. Dohnanyi: Serenade-Tema con variazioni played by Classical Jam
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJMoamDt7HE E. von Dohnanyi: I - Piano Quintet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1 - Allegro
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaIH-ieRs2w E. von Dohnanyi: II - Piano Quintet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1 - Scherzo. Allegro vivace
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg1vmNF6xzI E. von Dohnanyi: III - Piano Quintet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1 - Adagio, quasi andante
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz4KOywnXpw E. von Dohnanyi: IV - Piano Quintet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1 - Allegro animato